February 2026 Monthly Newsletter
February 4, 2026
The following post will be a blog archive copy of Build Your Library’s February 2026 Monthly Newsletter. If you missed the email, subscribe to our mailing list here. [Scheduled to be sent by 2/4/26 8:30 AM EST]
[February 4, 2026 ] – Welcome to this month’s Video Newsletter!
If you subscribed, you should have gotten our regular monthly e-mail newsletter in your inbox. However, you can now watch the video highlights and read the full details below, or view the BYL February 2026 Video Newsletter on Facebook.
Hey everybody, it’s Emily from Build Your Library! If you are going to skim the beginning, here are the main topics in this month’s newsletter:
- Build Your Library Updates and New Products
- Build Your Library Reviews and Testimonials
- February Contest
- February Bookish Holidays
- 2026 Build Your Library Reading Challenge
- History Book By Book!
- “Tea with Emily” Instagram Live Stream
- Build Your Library Support
Now that I have your attention, I have the details on those items and more.
Monthly Newsletter
“February is the border between winter and spring” ― Terri Guillemets, “Years”
“February, when the days of winter seem endless and no amount of wistful recollecting can bring back any air of summer.” ― Shirley Jackson, “Raising Demons”
Welcome February! I always find this month difficult. The holidays are behind us, but the long, cold, dead of winter stretches out, seemingly endlessly. I plan to be kind to myself this month by focusing on cozy: reading under blankets, drinking my favorite teas, snuggling up, and watching nostalgic movies. I hope you can find ways to be kind to yourself this month!
In the newsletter, we have new information to share and recurring monthly reminders!
Build Your Library Updates and New Products
To answer when the next level update will be ready, we have compiled our projected schedule into a post for easy reference. We will periodically update this section as we make progress or make changes to our tentative schedule. We are not currently working on any level or unit updates.
Big news! Our newest unit study just dropped!
In our increasingly online society, critical thinking and media literacy are among the most important skills we can equip our children with. I have chosen a handful of high-quality nonfiction and fiction titles to help you and your children better understand and navigate the news and social media.
As always, I’ve included a literature component to help contextualize these topics for you and your family. Follow Max in the Operation Kinderspion duology as he learns the truth about the Nazis and finds himself becoming a British spy during World War II. You’ll also read Feed, the award-winning YA dystopia that depicts a world where everyone has a chip in their brain that feeds them a constant stream of media.
This unit is scheduled to be completed in eight weeks; however, it is flexible enough to extend the timeline or condense it. If you want to spread it out over a longer period, take 2–3 lessons per week instead of daily. This unit is geared toward middle and high school students. I’d recommend it for ages 11+ due to the content and activities.
CONVENTION ALERT!
We will be at the Great State of Maine Homeschool Conference in Augusta, ME, on May 1-2! If you are in the New England area, I hope you can join us for a weekend in Maine at a great secular conference! Swing by my booth and say hi!
Build Your Library Reviews and Testimonials
We have always needed to improve at keeping up with the compilation of reviews and testimonials. Over the past 12-plus years, we have gotten a few here and there, but we really should get on top of them. We would love to hear about your experience with Build Your Library! Your review could be as short as a few sentences or as long as you’d like.
Google reviews are a significant factor in SEO algorithms. We are told it is as significant as ~1/3 of the equation. With that said… We would appreciate it if you could click the link below and show your support by leaving us a Google review, a Facebook Review, or a testimonial for our website. Our growth has been focused on customer interactions and building long-standing relationships. Thank you all for everything and for making it so easy to love what we do.
February Giveaway
Congratulations to our winner of last month’s Giveaway!
This month, we are giving away a free Lit Bite of your choosing! These are a great way to give Build Your Library a spin or the perfect way to swap out a book you’ve already read in a level! There’s something for every age and every reader!
Each action gives you entries into this month’s drawing, with some allowing for daily clicks. Odds of winning depend on the number of entries received.
Check out the contest page for more details, and come back each month for new opportunities!
February Bookish Holidays
February is National Library Lovers Month, and on the 14th it is Library Lover’s Day! Plan a visit to your local library and let them know you appreciate their contributions to your community.
The first week of the month is also Children’s Authors and Illustrators Week. This is a great time to pick your favorite picture books to peruse or re-read a favorite children’s book!
For author birthdays, we have Langston Hughes on the 1st (1902), Charles Dickens on the 7th (1812), Alice Walker on the 9th (1944), Mo Willems on the 11th (1968), Judy Blume on the 12th (1938), Toni Morrison on the 18th (1931) and John Steinbeck on the 27th (1902).
Collab with Soul Sparklettes Glitterbombers!
I’m excited to announce that we are collaborating with Soul Sparklettes Art! They have many excellent art projects that integrate seamlessly with Build Your Library. You can sign up for Glitterbombers membership through our affiliate link. Check the downloads on the Purchase Pages for levels 0-5 to see which projects align.
The membership includes hundreds of art projects, videos, and resources designed for homeschoolers and art teachers BY a homeschooler and art teacher team. There are three completely DONE-FOR-YOU curricula: Global Art Hop, Elements & Principles (PEP), and a USA Curriculum. Everything is included when you join – there are no surprises and no waiting.
Glitterbombers HIGH is a new art membership for grades 7–12. If you’re looking for art for your teen or tween, the new Glitterbombers HIGH might just be the answer. From sketching to Procreate, Sculpey to watercolor painting, Glitterbombers HIGH is a video-based subscription where your teen or tween can explore different media and topics and develop their own art style. There’s even a monthly art technique class with a challenge and opportunity to earn prizes! Usually closed to new members, I have a special link for you to sign up now and still get in at the introductory price. Have younger kids? You’ll love Glitterbombers, designed for PreK-7th!
And in honor of our newest release: Morbid Curiosities, Part 1 – Cannibalism, the team at Giltterbombers has offered a free project!
Free Download: Medical Illustration Skull-GB-Soul Sparklettes Art
This pen-and-pencil project is perfect for your preteens and teens. Combine art and science as you learn to sketch a skull like a medical illustrator!
If you enjoyed that project, why not consider signing up for a subscription? You can choose between a monthly, 6-month, or full-year subscription!
Sign Up for a Glitterbombers Subscription Here!
New Printing Partnership with Watson Family Press!
I’m excited to announce our partnership with Watson Family Press! If you are looking for a place to get your lesson plans printed, they have you covered! They are offering our customers a 10% discount using the code BYL at checkout!
I love supporting small businesses, especially fellow secular homeschool family-run businesses! I hope you will check them out!
2026 Build Your Library Reading Challenge
Are you looking for a fun reading challenge for the whole family? Well, look no further! We had so much fun with challenges the past six years, so we’re continuing the tradition!
This year, we are reclaiming our whimsy! In 2026, we are having a very hygge and cozy year of reading! This year’s challenge encourages you to find your sense of whimsy and read books that make you feel happy and cozy. 2025 was a difficult year for many of us, so I wanted to start 2026 with a reading challenge to help me rediscover my love of reading!
I’m looking forward to a great year of reading, and I hope you will join me on our reading adventure!
We are one month into the challenge now – how is everyone doing? I’ve completed 5/40 prompts!
History Book by Book (HBBB)!
History Book By Book is our database of engaging, entertaining, and educational books on a range of historical topics. Whenever possible, we have cross-referenced topics, internally linked additional suggestions based on like subjects, and created helpful, categorized lists for you to search and browse. Hopefully, you will be able to glean a vast amount of information and find as many history-related books as you would ever want to find. We discussed it in depth during a recent Tea With Emily Livestream on Facebook. You can view the recording here.
As a long-time homeschooling parent and the author of literature-based homeschool curriculum, we designed HBBB to help:
(1) homeschooling parents looking for additional resources to read to their children,
(2) homeschooling parents looking for more historically based books to give their children to read themselves,
(3) any teen or adult looking for categorized historical reading material for their own enjoyment and knowledge.
Reading your way through history… one book at a time.
History Book By Book Main page
We have recently started to create some blog post articles on HBBB! You can check out our first couple on our HBBB Blog.
“Tea with Emily” Instagram Live Stream
We hope you all enjoyed our last “Tea with Emily” Instagram Live Stream. If you missed our “BYL Reading Challenge 2025 Wrap-up and 2026 Unveiling“ in December, you can find a recording on our Instagram.
Our next Facebook Live will be on February 13 at 1:00 pm EST! I’ll be talking about Media Literacy! You’ve probably heard that phrase a lot lately, but what is it? And how can you teach it? I have a brand-new unit study, so now is a great time to discuss how to teach our children critical thinking skills and spot fake news!
I host a 30-60-minute Build Your Library homeschooling chat every other month. You can ask questions about homeschooling, the Build Your Library curriculum, book recommendations, and more. We will announce the date in advance, and you can submit any questions you would like to cover. Additionally, you can also ask questions during the interactive Livestream. Grab a mug of tea (or coffee) and cozy up with our virtual hangout!
Build Your Library Support
For a comprehensive, everything you ever wanted to know about homeschooling with Build Your Library, check out our “Build Your Library University (for Parents).” We have compiled a definitive list of articles, videos, and books on Build Your Library, Charlotte Mason, and general homeschooling, all logically categorized for your review.
BYL Social Media Shout Out
We always include our Social Media “chicklets” at the bottom of our newsletters and on our website, but we wanted to ensure you follow us on our other platforms. The Build Your Library Facebook page is our go-to social media site, where we post frequently with excellent Amazon products and book recommendations we think you would like, along with all of our Read Aloud Book Club announcements, blog posts, full-year and unit-study product releases and updates, and more.
Our Build Your Library Instagram page regularly posts pictures and insider info about projects I’m currently working on or what I’m doing with my kids.
Although not 100% exclusively Build Your Library related, our Arrrgh Schooling YouTube channel has videos about books and homeschooling, but let’s be honest, it’s mostly books. If you want to see what I’m reading, join my Arrrgh Booked Book Club. The Arrrgh Booked Book Club is reading Piranesi by Susanna Clark in February! This year is especially exciting because Tanya from Project Happy Home and I have a second new co-host joining us—Ashley from This House of Walls. It’s going to be an amazing reading year!
You can also subscribe to our email list and browse our monthly newsletters.
Wrap Up
I hope you have a very cozy February! I look forward to seeing what this new month brings!
“[Y]ou have such a February face, so full of frost, of storm and cloudiness” ― Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing
If you are looking for some more inspiration, here are some articles you might find helpful:
We have well over 100 blog posts on various homeschooling and book-related topics if you want to browse for more.
That is about all for this month. Again, please follow us on whatever social media you frequent. There will be periodic updates posted there as well, but we will try to keep everyone in the know wherever you are surfing!
Thanks, and Happy Reading! Emily
See Also:
